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it would be the perfect horror that would keep Sayaka and Madoka out of Mami's fate.

Except that, in the current situation, it had a strong possibility of driving them straight into said fate. With Mami dead, Madoka and Sayaka would have no chance of fighting or even surviving the witch unless they became magical girls right then. And had Homura been a few seconds later, it's likely that one of them would have done it.

I've been thinking a lot about Mami and her role in recruiting for Kyuube, and whether she's "evil" or at the very least, morally culpable. I think the best analogy for me is to think of Kyuubey as a sexual predator. Sometimes serial predators will use children to lure other children into their clutches - whether via threat or "Stockholm Syndrome" or some other vehicle, children who are unable to break free of their captors. In that sense I think Mami was basically saying, "Get in the car, little girls - see, I did it and everything's fine." Of course the true villain is not Mami - she's a victim too. But she's also got the blood of those girls she lured into Kyuube's clutches (past and current) on her hands. I think she had a change of heart - or at least a burst of conscience - there at the very end, but for Madoka and Sayaka, they came too late.

Originally, the goal for Mami was supposedly to recruit Madoka due to her and Homura's discussion about something involving Madoka that will make her incredibly stronger then the others. Since she is stuck with Kyubee after getting her wish granted, she just followed along and tried to recruit them. But during episode 3, she actually started to feel bonded towards Madoka when the duo offer was proposed and she was not afraid as long as she was with the person who she admired. So everything about Mami made a complete turn, but had to come to a conclusion.

Except that, in the current situation, it had a strong possibility of driving them straight into said fate. With Mami dead, Madoka and Sayaka would have no chance of fighting or even surviving the witch unless they became magical girls right then. And had Homura been a few seconds later, it's likely that one of them would have done it.

See, that's where Homura comes in. She bound Homura in ribbon that was directly linked to her magic. I'm willing to bet this wasn't an irrational act on Mami's part: she would have kept Homura bound to keep her from interferring until Mami had gone through her plan. When the ribbon disappeared Homura knew something was up and, because she's dead set on protecting Madoka, she came to their rescue. Certainly, the plan wasn't perfect but it was probably the best Mami could set up then and there.

Originally, the goal for Mami was supposedly to recruit Madoka due to her and Homura's discussion about something involving Madoka that will make her incredibly stronger then the others. Since she is stuck with Kyubee after getting her wish granted, she just followed along and tried to recruit them. But during episode 3, she actually started to feel bonded towards Madoka when the duo offer was proposed and she was not afraid as long as she was with the person who she admired. So everything about Mami made a complete turn, but had to come to a conclusion.

That's what I think you mean Guardian Enzo right?

More or less, though I think "complete turn" is more credit than I would give Mami. I think it's more of a guilty conscience than a true change of heart - as she got to know Madoka as a person and not just a potential recruit, she began to feel remorse over luring her into Kyuube's clutches. What we don't know in all this (and may never, who knows) is how many other girls Mami helped lure into Kyuube's control. It could be several and based on Mami's dialogue in the last episode, I suspect it's at least one or two and they've already died. But of course, that's 100% speculation on my part.

More or less, though I think "complete turn" is more credit than I would give Mami. I think it's more of a guilty conscience than a true change of heart - as she got to know Madoka as a person and not just a potential recruit, she began to feel remorse over luring her into Kyuube's clutches. What we don't know in all this (and may never, who knows) is how many other girls Mami helped lure into Kyuube's control. It could be several and based on Mami's dialogue in the last episode, I suspect it's at least one or two and they've already died. But of course, that's 100% speculation on my part.

She did feel alot of burden being pressured on her. All that cannot just come from her past and how she has to deal with the witches. So that speculation may actually be true in a sense.

More or less, though I think "complete turn" is more credit than I would give Mami. I think it's more of a guilty conscience than a true change of heart - as she got to know Madoka as a person and not just a potential recruit, she began to feel remorse over luring her into Kyuube's clutches. What we don't know in all this (and may never, who knows) is how many other girls Mami helped lure into Kyuube's control. It could be several and based on Mami's dialogue in the last episode, I suspect it's at least one or two and they've already died. But of course, that's 100% speculation on my part.

As I mentioned on your blog, I saw Mami as a well intentioned extremist, but episode 3 does lend some strong support to theories along the line of what you and Clarste are saying. I just didn't pick up on it when I initially watched because, well... so much happened in episode 3. I had to actually rewatch a few scenes and think about the implications for my theory.

I'm hoping she gets revived though - flawed sure, but she was my favourite character so far just on the basis of pure charm.

As to why she didn't break out of Mami's binding ... well, she was caught outside her MG setup, and it could be that the girls don't posses any special ability unless transformed, which the binding likely prevented her from doing.

Mami wasn't in her MG setup when she bound Homura. So, they can obviously perform some special powers even without their setup.

What the actual limitations are, without their MG setup, is impossible to say based off what we've seen so far. All we know is when Mami used her "special power" without being in her MG-wear, it came from her soul gem (ala ring).

There's a trend of magical girls destined to fight their friends. You have Pretty Sammy vs Pixy Misa; Nanoha vs Fate; Nanoha vs Hayate (and minions); Yuna Kagurazaka vs virtually all her (subsequent) friends; Akazukin vs Gretel; etc. It's just a common theme - I have not watched Black Rock Shooter, by the way, but I know it's there, as well.

So I'm wondering. What if magical girls turn (or have an opportunity to turn) into witches when they are killed in battle? We still don't know where witches come from...

In other news... Clarste made a good post, but I don't necessarily agree with the premise of Mami being evil or selfish. Consider that she actually died many years ago, and was granted an extension on life by Kyuubei. From that perspective...

A) Mami might be a puppet of Kyuubei, created and (at least partly) controlled for the sole (excuse the pun) purpose of getting Madoka to sign a contract. I think this is unlikely, but somewhat intriguing.

B) Considering that Mami was alive for the past ~6 years only because Kyuubei specifically granted her life, it would be appropriate and expected if she were grateful - even if some conditions were placed on her. If I had a terminal illness and a doctor extended my life by 6 years, but I had to eat a very strict diet and jog 12 miles a day, would I be grateful? Yes. And I would encourage others to visit my doctor, even if they were not terminally ill.

Ultimately, she did not seem selfish to me, just a bit misguided - if all she wanted were friends and a normal life, and thought Kyuubei was evil, she could have allowed him to be killed in episode 1 (unless, of course, he was sustaining her).

Ultimately, she did not seem selfish to me, just a bit misguided - if all she wanted were friends and a normal life, and thought Kyuubei was evil, she could have allowed him to be killed in episode 1 (unless, of course, he was sustaining her).

Just like to point out that I think it's obvious they can't kill Kyube. Hurt him, sure. Kill, no. If Homura could actually kill Kyuube, she'd have kept trying. She stopped attacking him because he came into contact with Madoka. Which insinuates all she was doing was harassing Kyuube to prevent him from coming into contact with Madoka. It's clear she does not want Madoka to become a Magical Girl, so if she was able to kill Kyuube, she'd have kept trying (especially with Mami dead).

If there's a Final Fantasy game that I must put my personal seal of disapproval on, it's Crisis Core. I mean, just look at how this Genesis Rhapsodos dude is raping the canon. It's bad. As in, fanfiction bad.